Laura Halik

Manager at

Summary

Results driven, customer focused Global Business Development, Marketing and Sales Manager with a strong background in developing international sales, marketing and ecommerce strategies, product marketing campaigns, contracts and building exceptional customer/distributor relationships for Aerospace, Computer Electronics, High Technology and Consumer Products businesses. Possess excellent project/team leadership, problem solving and organizational skills with a record of success in developing global markets, creative product marketing and exceeding customer expectations to achieve company objectives and revenue targets. An effective, cross-cultural communicator with high level business protocol and diplomacy, and the natural ability to work well with all personalities and management styles found in a diverse workplace environment. Fluent in Spanish; proficient in French.

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

· Global Business Development

· International Sales/Marketing Management

· Ecommerce Marketing Strategies

· Strategic Planning/Project Management

· Strong Customer Relationships

· Cultural Awareness/Diversity

· Cross Cultural Communications

· Foreign Language Skills

· Strong Contract/Negotiation Skills

Work experience

2005Present

President/CEO

Successfully led international sales, business and marketing development for online ecommerce retail and wholesale distributor sales in the consumer products industry through the creation and development of an international target market. Effectively managed international shipping/export documentation, ecommerce orders, merchant account transactions, financing, accounting and receivables; increased orders, reduced processing time and customer shipping costs.

· Utilized U.S. Embassy and Commercial Service contacts abroad to successfully market and interview new, pre-screened, reputable/qualified distributors and representatives to open up global markets in the Dominican Republic and Panama.

· Opened up new foreign markets and sales in the UK, Europe, Canada and India through the use of an international market and trade feasibility analysis, foreign distributor evaluation process and international marketing/advertising campaign strategy.

· Worked closely with an international attorney to create international distributor agreements, and sales representative contracts that reduced potential trade conflicts; negotiated international contracts for win/win results for customer and company.

· Developed a sales team of global distributors and affiliates, and a sales training and support program with an online resource center to build marketing and brand recognition.

· Created a monthly email marketing campaign and online ezine, wrote articles/special reports as a strategy to teach, train and coach subscribers, and built a database of opt-in subscribers resulting in development of a long term marketing relationship with 1200 opt-in subscribers, increasing trust, credibility and sales.

· Distributed and marketed written articles to online directories, created websites for product sales and ecommerce, and implemented other online marketing strategies including audio, video, blogging, podcasting and social networking resulting in increased subscribers, website traffic and sales conversions. Created website sales copy to improve sales and conversion rates.

20012005

Data Licensing Administrator

Data Licensing Administrator

Training Solutions, 2002-2005

As Administrator for the global Training Solutions Department, managed high volume sales and revenue of data licenses, including intellectual property sales/revenue of Avionics Systems for Full Flight Simulators and Flight Training Devices. Created, distributed and managed all data licensing contracts for Air Transport (AT) and Business, Regional and General Aviation (BRGA) market

· Developed strong relationships and interfaced with OEM customers Flight Safety International and CAE Canada, customers across Latin America, Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East, Marketing/Contracts Managers, technical support and product engineering.

· Led and facilitated weekly Cash Call Team meeting ensuring Data Licenses and all corresponding sales and revenue were addressed with timeliness and accuracy, to achieve critical department monthly/quarterly revenue goals and forecasts.

· Administered Honeywell Aerospace Electronic Systems (AES) AMI products, interfacing directly with AT airline customers such as Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific and JAL as well as Honeywell Country Managers and International Account Managers.

Business Support/Special Projects (Contract Position)

Six Sigma Plus, 2001-2002

Reporting to the Vice President of Six Sigma, interfaced with all AES Six Sigma Directors and Managers. Provided administrative and project support for all Six Sigma projects, training and corporate level events. Provided training and meeting computer/technical support; created the first AES Six Sigma intranet website as a tool/forum for communicating training, metrics and projects information.

19992001

International Sales Manager, Latin America

Reporting to the Vice President of Sales for the Americas for a global, small to medium size UPS manufacturer in the computer electronics industry, led international business development, sales and marketing for Mexico, Caribbean, Central America and South America. Hired to re-establish and develop a restructured major international sales region neglected and in default with a total outstanding revenue in excess of $500K. Directed export shipping, documentation and logistics, and order management.

· Through excellent problem solving, communication/cultural awareness, negotiation, diplomacy, and foreign language skills, successfully opened lines of communication again which re-established/repaired relationships with top Latin American distributors and representatives in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, Chile and Argentina.

· Increased sales and expanded markets throughout the Latin American Region. Utilized U.S. Embassy contactsabroad, interviewed and screened the best representatives/distributors, expanding product sales in highly competitive markets.

- In the1st six months, successfully generated over $600Kin sales. An additional $500K was expected from new regional accounts, making the Latin American Region the potentially the most profitable region in the company’s history.

· Through successfulnegotiation, diplomacy,and language skills, collected over $100,000, or 1/3 of the outstanding bad debt previously written off by the company. Efforts led to promotion as Department Sales Manager, Latin American Region.

· Researched and introduced an export credit insurance program, supported by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, significantly reducing the risk associated with international payments and conducting international business.

· Established a risk management program that obtained background checks and secured payment guarantee approval for qualified new and existing clients. The pre-qualification process and risk management program were instrumental in preventing future credit losses and reducing risk for the parent company.

19981999

Assistant Manager, Customer Meetings Management

Reporting to the Customer Meetings Manager and working closely with International Account Managers, Director of International Sales, VP of Global Solutions Sales and the President of IAC, supported the international sales team for Global Solutions in the Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Petrochemicals and Manufacturing industries.

· Received requests from Honeywell Country Managers in East Asian, Middle Eastern and European regions to host their customers in Phoenix for pre-sales business meetings, product training and contract negotiations. This was integral to the international negotiation process in closing multi-million dollar engineering contract sales critical to revenue and forecast projections.

· Set up and hosted with no prior notice the high level customer visit of Mr. Al Saba, of the Kuwaiti Royal Family, President of Kuwaiti Airlines, and Honeywell’s JV partner in the Oil and Gas industry, Kuwait and the Middle East; was formally thanked by Mr. Al Saba afterwards for having made his visit to Phoenix a very pleasant and productive experience.

Education

1993Present

Study Abroad, Guatemala, C.A.

La Escuela Linguistica Cano

20082009

Coaching From Spirit, Inc.

Empowered Spiritual Life Coaching Training & Business Development

Professional life coaching skills and coaching business marketing & business development training